CAPITAL BEAT
What you should know about
the Buckeye State budget bill

Or perhaps you're thinking of installing a wind turbine on your property?

Those and other issues are addressed in House Bill 483, the main mid-biennium budget bill passed by lawmakers earlier this month and signed into law Monday by Gov. John Kasich.

Much of coverage of the legislation has focused on new tax cuts and more controversial provisions, including language blocking college athletes from forming unions.

But there's lots other law changes packed into the bill's hundreds of pages that may affect you. Here are 13 you should know:

1. Dangerous Wild Animals: Do you own and keep certain restricted snakes in your home? The legislation makes changes to requirements for the possession of certain restricted snake species, mostly related to how venomous and constricting snakes are housed.

2. Amusement: Do your kids enjoy the rides at county fairs or amusement parks? HB 483 increases the fees for annual inspections of amusement rides, going to $1,200 from $950 for roller coasters and clarifying that the $5 annual fee for inspections of go-karts is to be calculated per vehicle.

The bill also requires the Department of Agriculture to charge $105 for inspections of inflatables.

3. Casino Commission: Think appointees to certain state boards are paid too much? The bill cuts the annual salary of members of the Ohio Casino Control Commission to $30,000 from $60,000.

4. Roller Skates: Do you long for the words "All skate" to be announced over a loudspeaker? The legislation repeals an annual $25 registration fee for roller rinks.

5. Growl: Are you a fan or handcrafted, artisan ale? HB 483 allows certain liquor permit holders to sell "growlers" of beer -- that is, glass containers of up to 1 gallon, for consumption away from the premises.

7. Lyme Disease: Are you concerned about ticks? The legislation requires doctors and dentists and related medical staffers to provide additional information to patients being tested for Lyme disease and permit veterinarians to report the presence of the disease in animals in their care to state health officials.

8. Child Support: Thinking about pocketing those gambling winnings instead of sending them to your kids? HB 483 requires the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to develop a program to determine whether lottery and casino players owe back child support. In cases where money is owed, the bill also requires the withholding of any winnings.

9. New Offices: It wouldn't be a budget bill without a healthy dose of new offices and panels to tackle different issues.

The legislation calls for the creation of an "Office of Human Services Innovation," an "Ohio Family Stability Commission," the "Adult Protective Services Funding Workgroup," the "Children Services Funding Workgroup," an unnamed workgroup "to develop proposals to help individuals to cease relying on public assistance," a "Nursing Facility Behavioral Health Advisory Workgroup," the "Mental Health and Addiction Services Planning for Ohio's Future Study Committee," the "State Recreational Vehicle Fund Advisory Board" and the "Criminal Justice Recodification Committee."

The bill also eliminates the "Cybersecurity, Education and Economic Development Council," leaving its duties to the state's Office of Information Technology.

10. Massage: The legislation defines the phrase "massage therapy" in state law.

According to the Legislative Service Commission, the new definition reads as follows: "The treatment of disorders of the human body by the manipulation of soft tissue through the systematic external application of massage techniques including touch, stroking, friction, vibration, percussion, kneading, stretching, compression and joint movement within the normal physiologic range of motion; and adjunctive thereto, the external application of water, heat, cold, topical preparations, and mechanical devices."

11. Disabled Parking: Having eye issues and want to park your car closer to the businesses you visit? HB 483 will allow your optometrist to prescribe a handicap parking placard or license plate "to a person who is blind, legally blind or severely visually impaired."

12. Wind: The legislation requires new wind turbines to be at least 1,125 feet away from the nearest adjacent property line.

13. Prison Museum: Have you visited the old prison in Mansfield where "The Shawshank Redemption" and other movie scenes were filmed? The legislation designates the museum on the grounds of the former Ohio State Penitentiary as the state's official penal museum.

Marc Kovac is the Dix Capital Bureau Chief. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.